Yao Haishan, the Dream Chaser of the Lotus Pond: Letting Dreams Soar Among the Lotuses
Lotus leaf after lotus leaf, like open green umbrellas, so fresh and lush they seem about to drip. The wind stirs the lotuses, and their fragrance wafts over you, delighting the eye and refreshing the heart.
This is the beautiful scene this writer savored the other day in Yangwu Group, Guoqiao Village, Xicun Town, Yuanzhou District. This beauty was created by two members of the post-1980s generation: one is Yao Haishan, born in 1981 in Xiapu Subdistrict, Yuanzhou District; the other is Zhang Haitao, born in 1988 in Linqiao Community, Fenghuang Subdistrict, Yuanzhou District. Overcoming one difficulty and setback after another, the two founded Jiangxi Lühang Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in 2015 and set up a lotus root planting demonstration base in Yangwu Group, Guoqiao Village, beginning their entrepreneurial journey.
At the age of 17, Yao Haishan learned to be a chef. After accumulating experience and capital, in 2008 he opened a barbecue restaurant on the student street of Yichun University, and business was always booming. But in Yao Haishan's heart there was a bigger dream. When he was little, his father planted several mu of lotus root at home; besides providing food for the family, it could also be sold for a bit of money to help make ends meet. Yao Haishan often watched his father dig up lotus root, and seeing one root after another pulled from the mud left a deep impression on him as a young boy. From then on, he planted a seed of a dream in his heart: when he grew up, he would plant lotus root on a large scale.
By chance, Yao Haishan's friend Zhang Haitao mentioned that there was a place in Yangwu Group, Guoqiao Village, suitable for growing lotus root. Yao Haishan immediately went there with Zhang Haitao. Before their eyes lay hundreds of mu of flat, open land, with plenty of water. Yao Haishan was overjoyed: this was exactly the place he wanted! Next came signing contracts, leveling the land and registering the company, and the two young partners were busy beyond measure.
In March 2015, through land transfer, the two contracted more than 100 mu of farmland to plant lotus root. Full of entrepreneurial passion, they invested more than 200,000 yuan in the early stage. But because they lacked cultivation techniques and applied too much farmyard manure, the vast majority of the lotus roots died. "Replanting would have missed the season, and at the time we were frantic with worry," Yao Haishan said. He sought advice from professionals everywhere and learned from them humbly. Hard work pays off, and at last they learned a remedy: spraying a powerful rooting agent over the lotus pond. This method can effectively promote the growth of lotus root roots. A month later, lotus leaf after lotus leaf broke through the water, standing gracefully on the surface. Yao Haishan and Zhang Haitao cheered and jumped for joy, as if beholding newborn babies.
Under their careful tending, the more than 100 mu of lotus root grew more and more luxuriant, and a bumper harvest was at hand. At the end of June 2015, they began digging lotus root. That year, by selling lotus root and lotus root seed, they recouped their costs in one go. This year, Yao Haishan and Zhang Haitao contracted more than 100 mu of farmland in Caoping Group, Guoqiao Village, to plant lotus root, encouraging several local villagers to take part in the planting, and promising to buy up all the villagers' lotus root. To broaden their income channels, they stocked their lotus pond with grass carp, common carp, loach and so on.
"Next, we will set up a professional planting cooperative so that more villagers can join in, with unified planting, unified management and unified sales, developing together as a group and getting rich together. Let everyone in Yichun be able to eat fresh local lotus root!" Talking about the future, Yao Haishan was full of confidence.